This invention relates to measuring force and displacement exerted by a tire. More particularly, the invention is for a device and method for measuring and characterizing the force and displacement exerted by a rotating tire through near surface depths in different soil/aggregate compositions that could detonate a buried explosive charge.
Currently, a most dangerous weapon encountered by operational forces is the Under Vehicle, Victim Operated Improvised Explosive Device (VOIED). This devastating weapon-of-choice accounts for considerable injuries and fatalities of both military forces and local civilians alike.
Typically, a VOIED has a main explosive charge connected to a mechanically actuated triggering mechanism that are both buried under a roadway. The triggering mechanism is actuated when the tires or tracks of a vehicle depress a pressure plate a predetermined distance to initiate detonation of the main charge.
Today's adversary combines imagination with limited available resources to arbitrarily construct a triggering mechanism that usually has a mechanically displaceable pressure plate connected to a wide selection of different items on hand. Consequently, there is little to no consistency in the designs of the encountered trigger mechanisms, or, as otherwise stated, “no two triggers are identical.” This lack of consistency increases the complexity of developing standard countermeasures.
Current countermeasure test initiatives to combat the problem of VOTED conduct go/no-go functionality testing against simulated devices. But, because of the lack of repeatability in trigger design, the current initiatives reduce the confidence placed on go/no-go testing. Another complication arises in that the simulated trigger of today will most likely be different than the one encountered tomorrow. Rather than react to the constantly changing threat, military tacticians and planners need to counter the threats with proactive/insightful means to develop vehicle threat profiles, estimate countermeasure capabilities, and provide vital insight into the soil dynamics for varying conditions (e.g. different types of aggregate, speeds and weight of vehicles, etc.).
Thus, in accordance with this inventive concept, a need has been recognized in the state of the art for a hydrostatic force/displacement measuring device capable of measuring and characterizing the force and displacement exerted by rotating tires in different soil/aggregate compositions in near-surface depths.